Sometimes it’s easy to ignore Bing. Google is still the giant in the world of search engines, and because of that, many businesses have come to believe that they should focus all their attention there. However, there are several big reasons why it pays to focus on Bing marketing as well.

1. Bing has nearly 20% of the Market Share

While Google does have the biggest audience, the number of searchers who use Bing is nothing to scoff at. When you consider how many millions of people use the search engines, Bing’s 18% share of online searchers adds up to an impressive amount of potential eyeballs that could be looking at your organic listings. Keep in mind that this number is people who use Bing exclusively. As popular as Google is, there are still millions of people who will never see your company’s listing if you are only advertising there.
 

2. They’re partnered with Yahoo

In 2010, Bing and Yahoo inked a ten year deal that made them search partners, in an attempt to create a rival for Google. While this initiative wasn’t as successful as the two companies hoped it would be, it still makes them a formidable presence. Yahoo’s 11% share of searchers and Bing’s 18% add up to almost 30% of online searches. Not only that, but both Bing and Yahoo’s share of the market has been growing in recent years, while Google’s has been slowly falling. Because of the Yahoo/Bing partnership, Bing marketing efforts get you 2 search engines for the price of one.
 

3. Bing Users are Wealthier and More Reliable Customers

Google may have the younger audience in its corner, but Bing’s user base is a much more reliable one. Studies have consistently shown that searchers on Bing are on average not only wealthier than Google’s users, but they are also more reliable and likely to spend money. Ignoring Bing marketing not only means missing nearly 30% of the online audience. It means missing the segment of the audience that your business can most count on to spend money and take advantage of your services.
 

4. They’re Converting the Younger Audience, Too

While Bing has had the older audience locked down for several years, it’s also starting to convert the younger audience to their brand. A large part of the reason for Bing’s growing market share (and Google’s comparable losses in users) is because Bing has started to eat away at its biggest competitor’s user base. By using youth-targeted initiatives and integrating with Facebook, still easily the largest social media platform, Bing is growing its audience across several profitable demographics.
 

5. Your Competition is Already There

Because all of the data on Bing’s growing web presence and reliability is public knowledge, there’s a good chance many of your competitors are putting plenty of focus on their own Bing marketing efforts. Just because some businesses aren’t going after the millions of reliable potential customers that make up Bing’s audience doesn’t mean that others aren’t. Ignoring Bing marketing is the same as telling your competition that they can have an incredibly lucrative customer pool for no competition.

Just because Google is the biggest fish in the pond doesn’t mean that Bing isn’t a presence to be reckoned with. All signs point to Bing’s audience only continuing to grow. Putting time and energy into your Bing marketing now is only going to pay off in the long term.